The mom brings the 5-year-old daughter to see "Hairspray" in the movie theater. Mother and daughter enjoy happy-go-lucky musical that takes place during segregation. After movie, daughter asks mother: "Do we have negro days, too?"
A part of me thinks this story is funny. A perfectly innocent question from a small child who doesn't understand what any of it means.
On the other hand, it's also disturbing. When I taught pre-school in the heart of Southwest Minneapolis, my 3-year-olds could tell you who Martin Luther King, Jr. was and they had a general idea of why he was important and celebrated. They were at least aware of the time in America when little white children and little brown children were not allowed to play together or go to school together and they knew that was a bad thing.
This is why children should be raised in the city. And why they should go to pre-school. There are lots of holidays in pre-school, including the celebration of Flag Day, but we don't have negro days in pre-school.
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